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2008/11/28

Jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."(Matthew 22:21). This phrase has been seen as the first Declaration of separation of church and state. However, at least in the Western Roman, followers of Jesus didn't believe it. In Jesus's living era, Christianity just was a new, thin and weak life, its power is so weak that Jesus hope Caesar not to interfere in the affairs of God. However, when several hundred years after the development of Christianity in Europe, bishops and priests snatched secular power, snatch the sites of "Caesars" below the banner of God, the more in Pope times. This formed a sharp contrast to the separation of church and state in East Rome. Religious professionals with the right and barbarians' invasion let the Middle Ages in Europe to become the so-called Dark Ages. But then, royalty power's consolidation, the rise of Protestantism, Renaissance, to promote decline of the power which religion to interfere in secular . Today, the West has returned to the state in "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's".

Chinese history had rare examples of God's interference Caesar. Today, the political system, Buddhism and Taoism's complete secularization, Christianity and Islam not effect majority of Chinese people, so God would not snatch secular power. But in China, Caesar was happy to interfere in scientific research, such as idealism and materialism in order to divide scientists, to criticize the theory of relativity along with the Soviet Union , and so on. We can only wish : "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to scholars the things that are scholars'."